Fuyuki Holy Grail War

The Fuyuki Holy Grail War (冬木の聖杯戦争, Fuyuki no Seihai Sensō?), also called Heaven's Feel (ヘブンズフィール, Hebunzu Fīru?), is a ritual that has been ongoing for two hundred years and a central element of the Fate series since Fate/stay night. Established by the Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern families, the Three Founding Families, as a means to reach Akasha, it is currently thought to be only a competition for something recognized as a possible Holy Grail. Seven magi are chosen by the Grail as Masters and, with support from the Grail, allowed to summon seven Servants to do battle. The winning pair is supposed to be able to claim the Holy Grail and utilize it to grant a wish for each of them. Its true purpose is to actually utilize the seven Servants returning to the root as a way to form a hole directly to it.

At the time there was also a serious flaw in this system, As the Grail required the energy of all seven Servants to help activate the Greater Grail and open a hole to Akasha, it would mean that all Servants including the victor Servant would have to be killed, and since the Grail can only be held by a Servant, activating the Greater Grail, let alone retrieving the Holy Grail, cannot be achieved, as Masters are incapable of doing so without a Servant. This flaw made the Grail capable of only granting wishes to Masters and Servants.

There has yet to be even one true winner who actually claimed the Grail in all five wars, and due to Angra Mainyu being summoned in the Third Holy Grail War, it would be impossible for a winner to have their true wish granted in most cases. The Grail, which is normally "colorless", was corrupted and turned into a manifestation of All the World's Evils. It cannot grant wishes without also causing great destruction, though only the Einzberns are directly aware of this fact. Overall, it is a minor event in the magi world. The stakes could be considered the highest up until the Second War, as the Church became involved afterward.[1] The preparation and decision-making were done by the Mage's Association. The Association also held most of the power over the matter. However, since the "Holy Grail" was part of the name, the Holy Church would not remain silent. "Fake or not, we must control all the Holy Grails" thus the Holy Church sent Arbiters to Fuyuki City, plotting to confiscate the Holy Grail when the opportunity emerged.[2]

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The original purpose of the ritual was to recover the Third Magic lost by the Einzberns, the "Cup of Heaven." Around 1790, Justizia Lizleihi von Einzbern, Nagato Tohsaka, and Zouken Makiri created the system in order to create a gate leading to Akasha. At that time, the Mage's Association and the Church were locked in a battle to the death, so a land in the Far East, where the Church could not monitor, was chosen. The Einzberns provided the alchemy to create it and prepared the vessel for the Grail, the Tohsaka provided the necessary land and called forth the Servants, and the Makiri assembled the magecraft to stabilize the starting materials and designed the Command Seals that command the Servants. Back when the Tohsaka were developing the ritual of the Heaven's Feel along with the Makiri and the Einzbern, Nagato's daughter played a greater role in the completion of the Holy Grail War system than her father.[3]

The Holy Grail War itself was devised by Justizia, and she was to become the key of the ritual. The Great Grail was created through forming a large circuit from many multi-layered Crests carved onto a bare rock over fifty meters in diameter. It was covered in multiple layers of circuits, while its many geometric figures turned in place. Justizia stood in the center of the it, and became the key to reenacting the Third Magic. The Holy Grail would have only been just a Holy Grail without her, as her will was required for Heavens Feel. Kishur Zelretch Schweinorg acted as a witness to the event.

Currently, only the Tohsakas want to reach Akasha, while the Einzberns and Makiri only want the completion of the Grail, that is, the revival of the Third Magic. However, both Zouken Matou and Shirou Emiya note these agendas are apparently impossible as there was never a victor for the past four Heaven's Feels and the Grail became corrupted by Angra Mainyu after the Third War.

The Great Grail requires sixty years in order to amass enough mana to summon Servants, making the planning period span over generations. If the Grail is unable to utilize its energy, that which is leftover can reduce the time to as little as a decade, such as in the case of the period between the Fourth and Fifth Wars.

The Grail selects potential Masters anywhere from years in advance to right before the start of the Holy Grail War. It favors those from the three founding families and then picks out suitable magi through a mostly unknown process. There can be more than seven potential Masters, but only the first seven who manage to summon Servants gain Command Spells and the right to act as a Master. It is possible for other unchosen people to gain the right to act as Masters by contracting with Masterless Servants.

The Servants can be summoned in advance as well, but more than two months, such as in Berserker's case, is an anomaly. They can be summoned far away from the site of the ritual, allowing them to be initially summoned in Europe and then brought to Fuyuki. While played off as only a battle royal where the winner is granted a wish, the real point is to fill the vessel of the Grail with the souls of all Seven Servants. Defeated Servants revert to being pure energy and, while the would normally disappear from the timeline by returning to the Throne as information for the true Heroic Spirits, the Grail stops that process temporarily and collects them.

It is possible to make a wish upon it with only the power of five Servants, allowing it to grant most wishes. It is still incomplete, and will take at least six to bring it into form. Its true purpose, opening a hole to the Root, requires all seven Servants. Once the vessel is filled, the energy of the Heroic Spirits returning to the "Throne" is used by the Great Grail in a ritual to open a "hole" leading to Akasha. Due to the corruption of the ritual, most wishes will require great destruction. Kiritsugu Emiya realized the Holy Grail had been corrupted when it presented him a revelation of how it would grant his wish - instead of saving humanity, it showed him a utopia would exterminate all of humankind besides him, his wife, and his daughter; as a result, Kiritsugu rejected the Grail and attempted to destroy it. Within a decade his adopted progeny Shirou would complete this mission and ensure the malice within the tainted artifact would never threaten the planet again.

Though the maximum number of Servants is seven, there is an auxiliary reserve system within the Greater Grail to distribute Command Spells again to allow the summoning for seven more Servants. This was developed for the highly improbable situation that all seven Servants were to cooperate, but it would likely exhaust the leyline of Fuyuki. It is to be used only as an emergency measure to have seven more Servants to oppose those that have joined up.[4]

The First and Second Wars went unsupervised, but the chaotic Second Holy Grail War caused them to rethink the position. Japan had been in its period of civilizing at the time, so the possibility of witnesses spreading the serious damage occurring needed to be controlled even in such a remote area. It is a conflict between magi, so there is no one in the Mage's Association suitable to act as a mediator because of the political implications. They instead sought out the Church, enemies to the Magi, an external authority, and, as it utilized the name of the Holy Grail, one of their most sacred artifacts, it was not possible for them to let its name be used lightly.

The Church acts under the pretense that they cannot ignore the possibility that it actually is the cup that received the blood of Christ, but they already know that it is not related to it. They still send a supervisor because it is too powerful to ignore because they didn't want someone to use the Grail for their selfish desire. They are not concerned about Magi reaching the Root, but someone affecting the actual world is too large a threat. They wish to instead guide a magi seeking the Root towards victory to keep such a possibility from happening. The Association also expresses a measure of interest in the ritual, so they dispatch Bazett Fraga McRemitz to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general populace. The Church is responsible for the cover up work in which they manipulates information by modifying the memories of victims and covering up the battle damage while the Mage's Association handles the media. The Association has the Einzberns cover the cost of any collateral damage.[5] They will punish the landowner should it get too out of hand, such as in the Heaven's Feel scenario. The damage it causes in society and the assassination of Bazett are blamed on Kirei Kotomine, but the activation of the path to the Root gets Rin Tohsaka into a great deal of trouble. Such rituals are only supposed to be done under their supervision, but she also heard they wished to truly execute her because the path was closed even though they succeeded.

The First Holy Grail War took place around 1800, but it was not meant to be anything like the future Holy Grail Wars. It was not named as such, only meant to be a ritual for the families to reach Akasha. It took ten years from its establishment to gather the necessary energy to manifest, but the Three Families originally planning to utilize it realized that the system could only allow for one person to utilize it. Though they had the same goals, their opinions on how to reach them were different, so the unforeseen aspect caused them to break off their alliance. They instead agreed to proceed with the system and means to create the Grail, but they would then become enemies when it was summoned.

Due to requiring seven Heroic Spirits to achieve the ritual and seven Masters to summon them, they had brought in four outside magi with the call of "We've succeeded in manifesting the Grail. If you'd like to witness this miracle, join us and become Masters." Though the outsider magi had only sought to learn about the ritual of activating the Grail, they used the internal quarrel as an opportunity to grant their own desires. Though the Three Families held the rights to the Grail, winning the conflict would allow them to obtain a wish regardless of the ancestry.

It was not a major conflict in the end, and can be called a "small quarrel of sorts" due to the conflicting opinions and interests. From the point of view of the Einzberns, the first time ended before the completion. The evocation site of the Grail was held at Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou.

The Second Holy Grail War was held around 1860's, formally take on the name of the "Holy Grail War." Developing into a war for the second time, it pointed out shortcomings in the rules due to it developing into a murder spree in which nobody survived. It ended with no victory, and the Three Families took it as a lesson to create more precise rules such as bringing in a third party like the Church. The evocation site of the Grail was held at Tohsaka mansion.

The Third Holy Grail War took place in the 1930s, held on the eve of World War II.[6] The fourth evocation site was confirmed and established, later becoming the center of the developing residential area of Shinto, the Fuyuki City Hall. Jubstacheit von Einzbern prepared the Einzbern forest and castle as the family's headquarters. The Tohsaka and the Edelfelt families were participants. The Edelfelts had two Masters, each with the same Saber-class Servant due to their unique Sorcery Trait. The Einzberns, tired of losing out on reclaiming the Third Magic, subverted the usual system in an attempt to summon the Zoroastrian god, Angra Mainyu. They obtained Avenger, which replaced the Berserker-class, but he was a very weak Servant without any abilities.

During the course of the War, there were battles over the Lesser Grail with the Imperial Army and the Nazis as well, and the fighting unfolded in the Imperial Capital. Avenger was lost early during the conflict, while upholding the Saber class' reputation, at least one of the Edelfelt sisters made it to the end. They were ultimately defeated by the Tohsaka, and the fate of the younger sister is unknown. The older sister ran away from the country, promising never to come back. The Lesser Grail was destroyed during the battles before the victor could be decided, so the ritual became meaningless and failed. The evocation site of the Grail was set to be at the Fuyuki Church.

There was a meeting held at a suitable time that appointed the then young Risei Kotomine as the supervisor for the next Holy Grail War. The ritual ended in failure, but Avenger, Angra Mainyu, was absorbed and the Greater Grail was contaminated. Up until that point, only true Heroic Spirits were summoned, but that contamination allowed for "something other than a Heroic Spirit" to be summoned during later Holy Grail Wars.

The Fourth Holy Grail War took place in 1994, 10 years before the events of Stay/Night; supervised by Risei Kotomine. The corruption caused by Angra Mainyu took effect, allowing for the summoning of improper Servants like Gilles de Rais. The destruction of the Lesser Grail during the previous war led Jubstacheit von Einzbern to develop it inside the body of a homunculus, leading to the creation of Irisviel von Einzbern. While the Holy Grail manifested, Kiritsugu Emiya, realizing that it could not grant his wish, effectively betrayed his Einzbern patrons by destroying it. The contents of it spilling out caused a large conflagration that killed five hundred people and destroyed 134 buildings. The only survivors of the participants were Kiritsugu, Kirei Kotomine, and Waver Velvet. Gilgamesh, through being incarnated by the mud of Angra Mainyu, also managed to still exist in the world.

Due to the inconclusive termination of the War, the Grail's failure to grant a wish to the selected victor, Kiritsugu, and the victor's subsequent destruction of the Grail, it resulted in the premature occurrence of the subsequent Fifth Holy Grail War only ten years later.[6] The unexpended thaumaturgical energy accumulated through the elimination of Servants was recycled due to the destruction of the Lesser Grail before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway, thus trapping some of the unused mana within the Grail.[7]

Kiritsugu had planned to demolish the ritual as of the proper scheduled time of the Fifth Heaven's Feel by arranging for the physical collapse of the Great Grail System before the originally estimated date. The process involved utilizing stocked dynamite and the manipulation of ley-lines to ensure a severe localized earthquake in the targeted area within thirty to forty years of the Fourth War. The premature occurrence of the Fifth Holy Grail War and the subsequent destruction of the ritual means that it no longer has a purpose.

The Holy Grail was dismantled ten years after the Fifth Holy Grail War in the 2010s. Lord El-Melloi II, a previous Master in the Fourth Holy Grail War, arrived in Fuyuki with Rin Tohsaka to set out to completely dismantle the Great Grail. This development was against the Mage's Association's plan of reestablishing it, so the two sides were opposed. It caused great turmoil of the same magnitude as a Holy Grail War, but the end result was the Greater Grail's dismantlement. This caused a complete conclusion for the Holy Grail Wars of Fuyuki.[6]

The Third Holy Grail War in the Apocrypha world differs from the one in the "Fate/stay night" world. In this variation of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, the Einzberns summoned Amakusa Shirou Tokisada rather than Angra Mainyu. This ritual failed due to the Lesser Grail being destroyed.

Afterward, Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, a magi supporting the Nazis, found the location of the Great Grail in the caverns underneath Mount Enzou, and had it removed using military aid from the Nazis. The Three Families and the Japanese Imperial Army fought to thwart the theft, but they were left in a weakened position from having been weakened from exhaustion brought about by the Holy Grail War. With their opposition defeated, the Greater Grail was successfully taken by the Nazis. Darnic then betrayed the Nazi's and swept the Greater Grail to Romania, so that he could prepare for his own Holy Grail War in 60 years time.

In the Fate/Grand Order timeline, the 2004 Holy Grail War ended up being the first and only Holy Grail War held in Fuyuki after the Greater Grail was built by the Einzbern 200 years prior. The winners were Marisbury Animusphere and his Caster Servant Solomon, who used the Greater Grail to fulfill their desires after having defeated all the other Masters and Servants.

After the Class Cards appear in Fuyuki, it is first thought to be remnants of the Holy Grail War, but Irisviel points out that only the names of the classes match the ritual. They are not the Servants that would have been summoned, and they do not match the planned ritual. They are actually part of a ritual of a parallel world brought forth into the world of Fuyuki along part of the other world.

Holy Grail War [Others]
A demonstration of the competition to acquire the Holy Grail.
If the so called Holy Grail had the same power as the Holy Grail in legends, then the battle for the fake was still called the Holy Grail War.
The Holy Grail War at Fuyuki City was special. Using a Servant system which employed Heroic Spirits as Familiars was something unique to Fuyuki City.
The preparation and decision-making were done by the Mages' Association. The Association also held most of the power over the matter. However, since the "Holy Grail" was part of the name, the Holy Church would not remain silent.
"Fake or not, we must control all the Holy Grails" ---- thus the Holy Church sent Arbiters to Fuyuki City, plotting to confiscate the Holy Grail when the opportunity emerged.
... the mages of the Association developed the game, but the rights were forcefully transferred to the Holy Church at the eleventh hour. I would say that was pretty unreasonable.

Nagato Tohsaka [Person's name]
The Tohsaka family head during the very first Holy Grail War, two hundred years ago.
He took part in the ritual at the request of Makiri Zouken and Justeaze.
Though traditionally the Tohsaka were a clan of secret Christians, one day a strange old man appeared out of nowhere and led them astray. Ever since then, they have devoted themselves to the world of sorcery.
With their contacts in the Holy Church and favorable treatment from the Association as disciples of a magician, they are in an enviable position.
It is due to their connections with both organizations that they were appointed the managers of Fuyuki.
At any rate, Nagato viewed sorcery and martial arts as equal, and was attempting to reach the Root via a state of mushin (no-mind) when he was recruited by the Einzberns and Makiri.
As you might expect from Rin's ancestor, he was prone to goofing up. Also, it seems that his daughter was the one with talent for sorcery, and ended up being far more useful in the construction of the Great Holy Grail than her father was.

Q: The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general population, but to what extent is it hidden from normal people? Are the Church people (supervisors) manipulating the media and police (or even the governmental level) to cover it up?

The Holy Grail War is unknown to the general population, but to what extent is it hidden from normal people? Are the Church people (supervisors) manipulating the media and police (or even the governmental level) to cover it up?

A: The Church manipulates information, while the Magic Association handles the media. Also, the Association has the Einzbern cover the cost of any collateral damage.

1790s - The Holy Grail War preparation
In the 1790s, the Einzbern and Matou landed in Japan to fulfill their plan. Then, they proceeded with the preparations of the First Holy Grail war over the course of 10 years.

1800s - The First Holy Grail War
The first Holy Grail War. The rules were not laid out properly, and the Masters' sense of being “participants” was weak. Because there were no Command Spells as in the present, the Servants did not comply with orders, and so the rest of the ritual failed. The Descent of the Holy Grail was at Ryūdō temple.

1860s - The Second Holy Grail War
In light of the failure of the First, the ritual was held only after detailed rules were developed. The so-called "Command Spell System” was perfected/completed, so that it became possible for the Master to enslave the Servant, though the War was a failure. The Descent of the Holy Grail was at the Tōsaka Residence.

1930s - The Third Holy Grail War

1990s - The Fourth Holy Grail War

2000s - The Fifth Holy Grail War
Events told in "Fate / stay night", the latest and final battle.

2010s - The taking apart of the Holy Grail War.
Ten years after the Fifth War. Lord Emelloi II (real name, Waver Velvet. One of the Masters of the Fourth War) arrived in Fuyuki and together with the head of the Tohsaka line, set out to completely take apart the Great Grail. The Association was planning on bring back the Greater Grail, so the two sides were completely opposed. After the end of the great turmoil of the same magnitude as the Grail War, the Greater Grail was completely dismantled. The Grail Wars of Fuyuki came to a complete conclusion here.

[v] Fate/complete material III: World material - FAQ with Nasu: Holy Grail War, p.131Q: Even though it should only happen every 60 years, was the 10 year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars as short as it was because the Lesser Grail was destroyed before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway trapped some unused mana in the Grail?

Q: Even though it should only happen every 60 years, was the 10 year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars as short as it was because the Lesser Grail was destroyed before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway trapped some unused mana in the Grail?

A: That’s true. In fact, you could say that the function of the Greater Grail was already muddled when when it was impregnated with Avenger in the Third War.